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[Cuthbert Calculus]

A Reading by Dominic Frisby of his essay on gold for The Idler Magazine .



Something A Little Different. Enjoy.

http://commoditywatch.podbean.com/2009/07/...-free-and-idle/

http://idler.co.uk/

Download Essay
 Why_Gold_Is_the_Currency_Of_The_Idle_and_Free.pdf   189.23K   148 downloads

[OneHundred]

I'd like to be Idle

[Cuthbert Calculus]

Should be working properly now.

[DoctorSolar]

Should be working properly now.

What a great piece. Thanks.

Reminded me of what got me in to gold in the first place.
A fair free and honest monetary system.

[All Seeing Pie]

Great podcast. Loved the example of why bartering doesn't work! I'm currently reading 'How to be Free" by the editor of The Idle. From what I've read of it I think you article will be very popular.

[notanewmember]

Excellent podcast.

Have a copy of it with you, the next time you are on Edge TV?  


No. 42, as well. The solution to the universe's problems could be solved with the right money system.

[DrBubb]

A good piece, and very well read.

I wish I could have done as well with my reading about Harrison's 18 year cycles.
(When I listen to it now, it just puts me to sleep within 2-3 minutes.)

I may try to redo it someday.

Your piece
Is a good mix of : facts, opinions, and historical quotes.

I think you should send a link to Financial Sense and Goldseek Radio.
Maybe they will use and excerpt or three, and link back

"Follow the Yellow Brick road!" - yes, indeed.

Hey, didnt the writer of The Wizard of Oz have an interest in Sound Money?

[Cuthbert Calculus]

Excellent podcast.

Have a copy of it with you, the next time you are on Edge TV?  


No. 42, as well. The solution to the universe's problems could be solved with the right money system.

Haha. Quite right.

And I hadn't noticed the 42 thing. Good observation.

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I wasn't sure if it work as a podcast, but I think it does.

I should be able to read well - it's what I do for a living after all.

[DrBubb]

I should be able to read well - it's what I do for a living after all.

Sure, but you make it seem easier to do than it is.
I suppose that is the trick in getting paid for it.

[Newbear]

Haha. Quite right.

And I hadn't noticed the 42 thing. Good observation.

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I wasn't sure if it work as a podcast, but I think it does.

I should be able to read well - it's what I do for a living after all.

I've just listened and thought it was really enjoyable - a big success and much appreciated.

It got me much more interested in the the Idler too. I thought you made intriguing connections between monetary policy and the Idler's ideals, which I begin to see in a new light.

It made me remember Marshall Sahlin's book "Stone Age Economics", which among many other points argues that prehistoric people did not have to work too hard to meet their needs - in fact they could get work out of the way fairly quickly and devote themselves mostly to ritual. Also connects with your theatrical interests perhaps?

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_qPSLy9...lt&resnum=4

[Steve Netwriter]

Dominic,
I've only just found this via DolarCollapse (I've been having computer problems!).

IMO this is quite exceptional. Very very well done.

A little something as feedback:



Tomorow I will be promoting this widely.

[Steve Netwriter]

I've added a bit to the title  

I'm also pinning this.

[romans holiday]

Good stuff! Like the historical approach.

btw what happened to the third function of money, that of a measure of value? I notice this function is being neglected these days by a lot of commentators and wonder why that is.  

Also stated was "Golds only use is money as a means to store wealth". Don't you think that the value that has been put on gold by humanity has transcended a mere monetary one? It has often been considered by many cultures as a symbol of power, wealth and status and has accordingly been used to much effect in the political, religious and artistic spheres.  Kublai Khan, for example, kept all the kingdom's gold in-house and issued paper currency to be used as mere money. This also provides an insight as to the reason why gold did not flow back to the west from the orient when used for trading. The earlier rational economists thought this could not happen and that trade imbalances would be restored when those nations with much gold would spend freely while those with little would tighten their belts. The false assumption was that all nations would consider gold mere money.... and not as more than a mere means to another end.... which money is.

I wonder if it is a peculiarly western and modern idea that "gold is money". Of course, the "primordial" value [as mentioned above] that was placed on gold has also made it the strongest symbol of money and possibly the best currency.  Perhaps a perfect currency does not exist.

I would hazard a guess the modernity of the west, in the tradition of the frenchified philosophy of Rousseau, is uncomfortable with the idea of power... having polarized it to freedom. Yet, gold is powerful and has a power over our minds. I woud also add the observation of an ancient Greek; "Gold is tried with a touchstone, and men by gold".

Just some thoughts.

Edit: gold bugs seem to lean towards the orient rather than the occident in regard to gold.

[aliveandkicking]

The audio says the goldsmiths fraudulently lent certificates against the depositors gold.

Is that really the case when also the goldsmiths were taking collateral such as family gold or silver or diamonds or other precious possessions that were not wanted to be sold in order to issue a certificate which could be spent in the market place where subsequent claim of gold the families collateral as gold etc was not claimed but instead the gold as money in the vault was claimed?

I have to say that most peoples understanding of gold smith fractional reserve banking seems to be based on an incorrect understanding of the practice.  

If you deposit your mothers wedding ring with a goldsmith for safe keeping you cannot then spend the certificate if the certificate claims your mothers wedding ring.   The certificates were valueable because they claimed what was deposited.   So either we look at the practice as like a pawn shop where in distress certificate holders spent their certificates or we see that depositors either

1. required safe custody of their valueable possessions in return for a certificate for those specific items or

2.  they deposited an amount of gold for a certificate promising an equal amount of gold which they could, if they wanted, spend without losing something of greater value to them than an amount of gold.

Also the same applies for property loans where if the borrower defaults the goldsmith can sell the property to cover his losses so that the depositors were not impacted by his losses providing the goldsmith correctly valued the property and correctly obtained the required securities and correctly calculated the appropriate interest rates.    It was for many a skill rather than it being a scam run by crooks.  

I have the honestly arrived at impression you can construct a fair and reasonable goldsmith banking system using fractional reserve.   At the end of the day no system is possible if people are fundamentally dishonest.

And if you manage to construct a case that fractional reserve is fraudulent you can then argue that such a system must collapse and and it is time for a new world order and so forth etc etc.

[G0ldfinger]

... I have the honestly arrived at impression you can construct a fair and reasonable goldsmith banking system using fractional reserve.   At the end of the day no system is possible if people are fundamentally dishonest.

Fractional reserve banking per se is not fraudulent. The problem however is that the people who are using it have no understanding of it, i.e. they are also not aware of the fact that the system is prone to cause eternal inflationary bubbles and deflationary collapses. The latter ones are now ironed over by central bank money printing, hence fractional reserve banking is putting whole currencies at the risk of hyperinflation.

[darreng1000]

I found the essay fascinating and has certainly helped with my very limited knowledge on gold and money.
However it has thrown up some questions.

You say that various wars wouldn't have happened if gold standards had been kept, however wouldn't there have then been wars to try and conquer land that was in rich in gold?
Also as gold would be a finite source of money, wouldn't this then start drawing the world back to the times when empires existed?
As they could not make money to buy assets they just went out and conquered the assets?

I don't know if i'm going way off track here, or my understanding really is terrible.
I have other questions which i will ask later.

[wren]

A good essay. It sums up most of my opinions on the matter.

It is a useful and entertaining introduction to the monetary aspects of gold for those who are new to it (most of the general public).

You may know that in Finland in olden times squirrel skins were used as money (the Finnish word for money - "raha" is supposedly derived from a variant of the word for squirrel, "orava"). I read just recently that the skins were used in the clothing business so it was indeed a commodity currency.

Red squirrels are now very common in Finland, but prior to a hundred years ago they were much rarer due to trapping. In the city suburb where I live there are plenty of cute little squirrels as there are plenty of trees, Scots pines especially, between the buildings as well as park areas.

[lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)]

A Reading by Dominic Frisby of his essay on gold for The Idler Magazine .



Something A Little Different. Enjoy.

http://commoditywatch.podbean.com/2009/07/...-free-and-idle/

http://idler.co.uk/

Download Essay
 Why_Gold_Is_the_Currency_Of_The_Idle_and_Free.pdf   189.23K   148 downloads

like it

and agree with consumption taxes - if we have any taxes at all

only 12 so far

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/TheGoldStandard/

[Cuthbert Calculus]

Thanks for all your positive comments, chaps.

Will be quoting that squirrel skins one and also looking into that stone age book

Have signed up for the petition.

Thanks for your enthusiasm Steve N

[Cuthbert Calculus]

PS There will always be was while governments are in charge. But if they don't have the power to print money then sheer economics will reduce the scale of these wars.